My Truly Beautiful Disaster

[Jean-Baptiste]

This is a totally whacked-out pedal by Effector 13.

Normally I use nothing more than a compressor a delay and a good ole tube amp when I'm playing the tele, but a big thread on fuzz a few months ago got interested in the "noize" again, so I've been collecting them for the last little while.

The TBD's a self-oscillating fuzz, with a built-in loop and an 'electric-eye' that you can pass your toes over (like the ZVex 'probe' pedals) to get some zany theramin-like modulation.

This pedal's so far over the top that I used it for months without realizing that it was defective. Now that I've had Devi, the inventor, overhaul it, I'm going to have to start at square one again to figure this thing out.

When I first got it, it worked like a normal fuzz in certain settings, but now it self-oscillates in those same settings - I have to keep playing, as the space between the notes gets filled up with random alien feedback, blips, groans & whistles.

Anyone who's spent some quality time with a Fuzz Factory might be familiar with some of these 'non-guitaristic' tones, but my conserative musical background didn't prepare me for the insanity of the Truly Beautiful Disaster.

Just plugging in takes me far beyond the wildest Jimi Hendrix psychedelic melt-down - some of the stuff coming out of my old vibrolux has made me burst out laughing. And anybody who thinks fuzz is just a way to cover up their sloppy playing hasn't tried one of these - Just varying my pick attack creates anything from octaves, to arpeggios, to ring modulation, to sputtery computer chirps that sound like a dying Nintendo game on acid.

Very cool. But not for those Buck Owens covers. It'll be a while, if ever, before I bring this thing on stage.

Anyone else out there diggin' the noise?

[WonderCouncil]

I've been into noise stuff since day one I think. Tape loops, feedback loops, circuit bending, all that fun stuff Most of it never really gets worked into a live setting and is more for my own personal enjoyment. I've been looking into come stuff by effctor 13, low on cash though. FX-Dr. has some really cool more useable effects too. I really dig thier nintendo controler looking pedal, has some really good synth fuzz sounds on it. I think it's called the "8-bit fuzz".

[Aen]

*Cough*

Yeah, I think it's just the three of us around here. I haven't been able to afford any effector 13 stuff, but I do rock a frquency analyzer, an ibanez fuzz, a blue box and a big muff clone.

I'm putting out a fairly noisy/experimental record, called "guitar" on tuesda, which I'll link you dudes up to...

If you like glitches, I'd get a blue box, also. Drops your signal 2 octaves and fuzzes the crap out of it. Really indecisive, too, especially on the bridge pickup.

[WonderCouncil]

Ah yeah I had a Frequency Analyzer for a while but never got that attached to it, I just couldn't get a good ring mod tone out of it, ended up selling it though; kind of miss it actually hah. I've heard the DOD gonkulator is supposed to do a pretty good ring mod. DOD actually did have a few cool pedals back in the day, buzzbox, meatbox, gonkulator. I hear Digitech and DOD are one in the same company. Digitech needs to reissue thoughs, forget about the Grunge pedal already!

I've been looking into getting a Blue Box though. I figure I could use it for the fuzz in my one band and have it double for experimental stuff.

[Aen]

Unfortunately the fuzz tone is quitere than the clean tone, so youd need some typew of volume boost to have a loud fuzz. But it is a delicious fuzz. I ended up snagging one of those silver Ibanez fuzzes fro normal fuzztones. Definetly worth the $20 at the pawnshop.

That Gonkulator supposedly has only on carrier signal, around a C, and you can always hear it faintly in you chain. Thats just what I've heard, never had one of my own.

[James W]

Originally Posted by Aen

*Cough*

Yeah, I think it's just the three of us around here.

Make that four.

I've been really interested in the TBD and also E13's feedback loop pedal, which I think is essentially the same as a TBD without the fuzz. Can you use the loop feature of the TBD without using the fuzz?

I've a KAOSS Pad, Fuzz Factory, and Line6 Delay on my waist-level board and I thought I'd have room for one of those E13 gizmos but I'll have to wait for another paycheck or two or three.

[Twang]

five?

i'm trying NOT to buy anything else so i am avoiding going
to the E-13 page and recently have been playing mainly with a
delay and a overdrive but i still love the noise...



r-to-l: Catalinbread SCOD>Wolftone CHAOS>Moog MuRF
(w/expression pedal)>Lovepedal MAGICboy>L6 Liqua-Flange>
L6 DL4>Digitech Jam-Man

incomplete but a blast

[simonc]

Yeah count me in too, Ive been searching for the right kind of noises for a long time & with the recent purchase of the MXR blue box, I think I have finally found the match I was looking for.
Well, theres always that theremin Ive been after for ages....

That effector 13 stuff looks intense....

Ive been toying with the idea to add the MXR blue box & phase 90 inside my MIM tele...Change the Pup switch location to the lower horn, & add 3 more pots to the control plate (the on/off switches for both effects will be built in switches ala Am deluxe series tele's pot's)...maybe....

[Jean-Baptiste]

Wow! I'm surprised at the amount of interest - Just goes to show that the tele's at home with any kind of music, even non-music.

Originally Posted by James W

Can you use the loop feature of the TBD without using the fuzz?

I don't think so, but it's the coolest feature of the pedal. It mangles whatever you put in there beyond recognition - extremely hard, if not impossible, to control the outcome when using the loop.

I find it works best with another fuzz and/or a delay in the feedback loop. The guitar pretty much plays itself in this mode, leaving my hands free to manipulate the photo-sensitive eye and turn the noise-gate off & on.

Big plus on those old MXR effects. I still use my old script logo DynaComp. It's one of the few buffered pedals in my rig that actually improves the guitar's tone when bypassed. Mine's got to be at least 35 years old and will probably last forever.

[kingnimrod]

count me in as a noisehead as well. I can't pass up any noisemakers that cross my path. One of my favorites is the alesis BITRMAN - part of the modfx series, now discontinued - craxy noises from that thing.

I also have a theremin, bunch of pedals, etc. Too much stuff to ever get around to playing, almost, but that won't stop me from getting more.

Bluebox is great, but really sucks the volume... You should hear it when I run it and my DOD buzzbox next to each other. Sub-bass flatulence city...

[WonderCouncil]

After looking around more at Effector 13 pedals I think I found the fuzz of my dreams unfortunatly they don't make it anymore hah. It's called the Silver Crank. Here's a sound sample off their site.
http://www.effector13.com/pedals/silvercrank/index.html
Time to go scour Ebay

[simonc]

OK So I had the idea yesterday that all us noise lovers could maybe make up some 2 minute tracks of sonic mayhem, then perhaps post them all up on the twanger central?
Stipulations should perhaps be - must be a telecaster used, & guitar track only (ie no drums bass etc etc).
What do you guys reckon? Im a sucker for this kinda thing, & would be very interested in hearing what you guys can do with your effects setups, then we would have a good idea as to what we might have some GAS attacks for :)

[kingnimrod]

Good idea. Why don't you start a thread in twanger central for noise posts, and let's all stick them in there. I may be a bit delayed as I'm house shopping and most of my recording gear is packed away...

[kingnimrod]

and as for the silver crank, the fuzz factory can get that sound and many more. it's a fun toy.

[WonderCouncil]

Ahh but do I have the money for a Fuzz Factory ? Meh I've been reading reviews on it and it seems everyone says it leans towards the treble side of things which I already have way too much of :?

I'm still digging that 8-Bit Fuzz by FX Doctor but have heard he's not the best to deal with.

As far as a noise post goes I'm all for that, unfortunatly I don't have any of my gear actually at my house. I do however have a myspace (who doesn't?) that I can post that has some noise-esque recordings on it.

Edit I forgot to add, if I ever do get a Zvex pedal I think it will be the Lo-fi Loop Junkie heh.

[kingnimrod]

I guess I can agree that the fuzz factory is a bit more trebly than others... z.vex makes the wooly mammoth, which has more bottom end.

You should try out the DOD classic fuzz if you come across one - highly underrated because of the bad reputation of the company overall. But I really like my classic fuzz.

I've been running my big muff with the fuzz factory and that seems to bring in more bottom end....

[WonderCouncil]

Opps, I meant the Silver Crank as the one with more treble. I'll have to give the Fuzz Factory a listen again. It's hard to say what I exactly want in a fuzz. If you listen to the Silver Crank or the 8-Bit Fuzz those are both the closest I've heard. Maybe I need to just pick up noise gate? Both Effects are said to be gated, would that be the correct kind of gating? I have a Boss FZ3 which I like but maybe some kind of gating would make it more like the others. I just like that thick wall of sound power chord thing. Lofi is always a plus heh.

Anyone here mess with those Realistic/Radio Shack reverb units with the sliders on them? I used to have one; you could get some really messed up tones out of it, especially in a feedback loop.

I'm working on a set up using a Boss Line Selector to hopefully set up a loop on one signal and my guitar on the other to switch between them at will. Not to sure how well or if it will even work.

[kp8]

Originally Posted by Jean-Baptiste

Wow! I'm surprised at the amount of interest - Just goes to show that the tele's at home with any kind of music, even non-music.

I don't think so, but
it's the coolest feature of the pedal.

yes you can. I use it that way most of the time.


-kp8--

[simonc]

http://www.tdpri.com/viewtopic.php?p=503461#503461

OK this thread is what I created for telecaster sonic mayhem.Go nuts.Show me what ya got.I hope my mp3 is what you guys would appreciate(in a freak out noise kinda way).

[James W]

I might have to write something specific just for the Twanger Central forum. The only noise piece I've recorded breaks just about all the rules (except for length -- it's only one minute, one second or something) in that it's not a Tele, and there's no guitar (well, I guess there were only three rules, but it sounds so cool to say "breaking all the rules" and not quite as cool to say "breaking two-thirds of a really short list of rules"). It's four tracks of Korg CX-3 organ, a KAOSS Pad, and a Boss Overdrive/Distortion in ProTools.

You can listen, if you like, on my myspace page (which seems to cut all the lows out of everything posted there -- I say this because the lack of bottom-end cannot possibly be the result of my complete inability to EQ anything properly). It's Noise Test 1 (and not the equally well-named "Test 2"). It's also rather quiet:

Imperial Bedroom